Snakes, Jails and a History lesson.

This jail cell was used in McCamey Texas....but there are others just like it around here.
Looks quite dreadful, yes?

These are Gene's bottle cap snakes. I've seen similar ones in Alpine for $95....bet they don't sell many. That artist uses carved wooden heads and tails and I don't like them much. Once Gene gets his fixed up....I make a head and tail out of polymer clay.

I rolled around on the lobby floor for about an hour this morning taking out the last of the staples and scraping crappus off the floor and sweeping up a few spots....it hurts.

We had a bit of rain yesterday and a little bit more today....not even a tenth of an inch...i know, i know...ya'll are still flooding...it's not MY doing!

West Tejas History 101:
This is regarding P.H. Pruett (phillip hawker)....T.B.'s big brother.
In 1865 he married Martha Brown of Augusta, Arkansas....and when she died he married her sister....no wonder she died after birthing FOURTEEN children!
According to one 1977 interview with Ora Jane Pruett (P.H.'s daughter), the family settled where they did when her father (P.H. Pruett) put together what is now the Kokernot '06 Ranch.
P.H. sold his wife's cow milk and butter to soldiers at Ft. Davis. He stumbled upon a lush canyon and Ora Jane stated "he rode up Limpia Canyon and at the place we call 'picnic rocks' he ran into a mexican man...who said my father could rent his house for $5. a month and turn his cattle out on up the canyon on what is now the Prude Ranch."

so what was it?
prude ranch or the '06?
they are both still around today and near each other.
if you goggle "prude ranch" it's quite an interesting website!
Ora Jane married A.G. Prude in 1897. She lived to be 100 years old.

Another computer find:
"About 1880 P.H. drove 275 longhorn steer up Limpia Canyon from Ft. Davis."

FIRST RURAL SCHOOL WEST OF THE PECOS RIVER: (this is a texas historical marker...or something similar).
Built in 1881 of adobe brick, by settlers P.H. Pruett, Cal Nations, James Dawson, Joe Dorsey.
At the same time Pruett built a home a half mile north. A Texas Ranger's camp in the area gave protection from indians. Mrs. Pruett once made a midnight ride to alert rangers of an approach of Apaches. Pruett sold his home in 1883, to Ft. Davis commandant B.H. Grierson and founded "Lone Cottonwood" ranch 4 miles east. The school was closed after he moved. In 1912 Pruett sold "Cottonwood" to H.L. Kokernot...now several Kokernot rnches use it as headquarters.

I have read that the adobe ruins of the ranch can still be seen from the Ft. Davis to Alpine highway. We found the marker but could not see any ruins. P.H. died Feb. 28, 1924 in El Paso and is buried on the Kokernot ranch.
He was born in Marshall County, Kentucky in 1839 and the family moved to Texas from Romance, Arkansas.

Where was little brother T.B. all this time?
The earliest date I can find of him in the area is 1892.
He got here as soon as he could and built our house between 1902 and 1907.

There will a test on this information tomorrow....not.

Love, mary